Event Glass Hire
Organising an event can be exciting. All the invites, colours, and themes—it’s a really involving process. If this is your first event, you’ll soon discover that there are lots of things you didn’t even consider until you get into the planning stage.
In this blog we wanted to look at glass hire and what goes into planning and organising the glass hire for your event.
As double-decade event hire specialists, we’ve seen lots of mistakes at events that could have been avoided with better planning. We try to help with those common slip ups on our blog. You’ll find more help on planning below:
As with many areas of event hire, what looks simple from the outside may well become a little more complicated, so here are some key areas to consider:
What type of event are you hiring for?
To decide on the glasses you’ll need, you’ll have to look at the event overall and how it will play out.
(You’ll need to do this for other areas like furniture hire and linen hire, too!).
You’ll soon see why this is important. Different events have different celebrations and traditions. Knowing the type of event will help you ask the right questions, research, and consider the drinks you’ll be serving or helping to organise.
Event drinks:
- Reception drinks – champagne, cocktails, mulled wine? What will the first drink be?
- Dinner drinks: Are you sitting down? Or is it a buffet? Bowl food or canapes? What drinks will you serve? Will you simply top up the wine glasses or offer a fresh glass? This will all determine the type and number you’ll need.
- Bar drinks: Is there an evening party? What drinks are you offering? You’ll need the right glasses to accompany your drinks.
We’ve created a full breakdown for glass hire and what you need to consider here.
What we’ll do now is cover the main types of glasses that you might need to hire for your event and help you decide which ones you need…
Wine glass hire
Nearly all events will be accompanied by a glass of wine because food and wine have long been partners. Most wines are actually produced with food pairing in mind, and you’ll be familiar with the art of matching food and wine.
So, it goes without saying that you’ll most likely need some wine glasses at your event, but which type?
We have two styles: Primeur and Savoie.
Choosing the Primeur range of glassware is a wonderful way to add a touch of glamour and sophistication to any event you’re planning. This strikingly elegant crystal line delivers a superbly refined selection of wine and water glasses in a variety of shapes and sizes.
Our Savoie glass selection of clean-lined, modern-styled glassware combines form and function to deliver a contemporary minimalist look that’s as elegant as it is unfussy.
Both are great choices for wine glass hire, but the Primeur range is better suited to a stand-up event, whereas the Savoie range is simpler and the sensible choice for a bar glass.
Champagne glass hire
Ah… reception drinks. In many respects, this is the drink you need to get right in catering or event hosting – the welcome drink! It’s the first drink and the one they’ll be most sober for, after all!
Receptions at weddings, for example, are traditionally kicked-off with bubbles. What are the choices for champagne glass hire?
Well, we have a Cabernet Long Stemmed flute which is taller and more elegant or the more traditional and simpler Savoie Short Stemmed flute, which is easier for larger events with lots of drinks on trays and tables. You could also opt for a Champagne saucer for a more retro vibe!
How many champagne flutes do you need to hire?
Are you wondering how many drinking glasses I need for my event? Well, that’s a pretty simple question to answer, and we have a champagne toast calculator to help.
Gin glass hire
Gin has certainly seen a huge rise in popularity over the past few years. Once the drink left in the 80s and with the aviation crews, the G&T is back… and it’s bought some friends, too!
There are now an impossible number of gin cocktail recipes to choose from, and with the rising popularity, you may well need to cater to the gin lovers with not only the right gin glasses but also the right selection of gins! It’s no longer acceptable to just offer Gordon’s!
If you’re serious about catering to the trend, you’ll need to hire gin glasses for your event. You can’t serve a gin in a tumbler. (You won’t, will you?)
Arrange your gin glass hire, and don’t forget the extra ice if your catering staff are going to serve them with copious amounts of ice as recommended by the pros!
Cocktail glass hire
Just like gin, cocktails are very much in favour, and it’s not unusual to see cocktails as the reception drink of choice! With mocktails becoming more common, you might well need cocktail glass hire for your event, even for those who are not drinking alcohol.
Which glasses will you need? Well, that entirely depends on the cocktail! Most cocktail recipes will tell you the type of glasses you need, and we’ve created a list of the top nine cocktails for weddings with the glasses needed to make them on this blog. Go and take a look!
Bar glass hire
Ah… yes—the bar. If you’ve lost your man at an event, it’s the first place to look! That said, there’s a rise in G&T drinking, which has seen a surge in the female crowds at the bar at events.
If you’re having an evening bar, then don’t forget to plan for that.
Some things to consider with evening bar glass hire:
- Beer on tap? You’ll need some pint glasses.
- Gin on display? Get some gin glasses.
- Offering shorts? Whiskey glasses and tumblers will be needed.
- Wine by the glass? Some Savoie glasses will be perfect.
- Champagne or prosecco on offer? Get some Savoie flutes.
- And don’t forget the tumblers for those soft drinks.
- Will there be children there? What will they drink, and what will they use?
Essentially, get the full list of drinks on offer at the bar and give that to your glass hirer, and they’ll help you. Of course, you’ll need the number of people and the timings of the event, too.
Fancy a top-up?
We hope you found our glass hire information useful. There are plenty of event hire blogs on our site so do take a look and feel free to add yourself to our email list for more updates as we add them to the blog.
Need more help? Contact us right here and we’ll be in touch very soon.
